1 - Darwin at 200, Human Nature at a Few Million, and A Myth Dispelled

This is part 1 of an 8-part talk given by Dr. Dennis McBride at an event sponsored by the National Capital Area Skeptics on February 14, 2009. This talk first reviews some of the least known but important elements of Charles Darwins portfolio as he published Origins in 1859, and Descent of Man in 1871. (For example, Darwin was, fortunately for us, very prone to sea sickness.) Focusing on the evolution of humanity and on natural selections counterpart, sexual selection, Darwins 1871 book re-fueled a firestorm, one that still burns today. Poll numbers show that a significant proportion of todays population does not accept Darwinism as applied to humans. Darwin foresaw and actually embraced this resistance. More importantly, a significant proportion of adults, including academics, accept human evolution but eschew the idea of a DNA-supported (i.e., not genetically determined) human nature. At least three evolved characteristics of human evolution make the species very different from its closest relatives: the opposable thumb, bipedalism, and the encephalized brain (which increased in size by a factor of 3 over the past few million years). Dr. McBride will touch on interesting examples of evolved human nature, including pregnancy sickness and male preference for mates with certain waist/hip ratios. With these, we will examine the way in which the realities of bipedalism and encephalization explain birth-related injury, and how this consideration undermines one of the most troublesome socio-legal myths of our time: the myth of shaken baby syndrome.

Dennis K. McBride, Ph.D. is Academic President of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington area think tank dedicated to the provision of science and technology policy expertise to the administration, congress, and the judiciary. Members of the Institute remain actively engaged in the scientific disciplines for which they provide expertise. McBride is an evolutionary psychologist with an extensive background in the science of human evolution. His most recent book, Quantifying Human Information Processing (Rowman & Littlefield) is followed by a soon to be released, co-authored treatment of Best Available Science. As an active adjunct faculty member at Georgetown Universitys medical school and Public Policy Institute, he has also held appointments as professor in colleges of engineering and arts and sciences.

The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics. For more information about the National Capital Area Skeptics, and to learn about our upcoming events, visit www.ncas.org.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• skeptic
• science
• evolution
• Darwin
• shaken baby syndrome